the D chord on 10

[Lennart v]

i am trying to play this bar on the 10 with E shape D chord but that does not ring out .I think my posture is not good .i break my hand.Why don t they make the neck of acoustic guitar two frets longer ? No we stop here long enough this is it.

[Canada Moose]

not all chords shapes are comfortable or even playable at all positions, especially on acoustic. Either avoid awkward positions, or you can play partial chord. The barred E shape can be played with just the top 3 or 4 strings.

[Michael L]

Full bar chords going up the neck do get harder, especially trying to cram all those fingers into smaller and smaller frets. A couple of things that help me:
For the ‘E’ shape, realize that the bar only has to hold down the 1st, 2nd, and 6th strings. Your other fingers get the 3rd, 4th, and 5th strings. Sometimes this can relieve the pressure on that first finger.
Try placing your middle, ring, and pinky fingers first, then adding the bar. This often gives you a more solid grasp on the strings.
Also, experiment with moving the first finger vertically up or down (that is, toward the 6th string or toward the 1st string). This can put the more padded part of your first finger on the important strings for the bar.
Finally, ask yourself if you need to play the full bar chord. Listen in the context of the song you’re playing. Often, a more simplified fingering gives you what you need. Take a look at Brian’s lesson on CAGED chords (EP273, I think). He talks about the ‘top part’ and the ‘bottom part’ of many of the shapes. These can help a lot.

Hope this helps!
Michael

[David Walker]

In my opinion it also depends on the guitar and the strength in your hand (especially an acoustic). My parlour guitar I have a heck of a time and the pressure to make it ring is very hard keep, but my full size not so much.Michael has a really good point of playing perhaps a piece of the chord, Brian does it all the time. Also, make sure you thumb is anchored well behind the neck. Like everything practice makes perfect. Now if that would only work for me LOL.

David W.

[Author]

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